


Why Me? Cause Why Not.

by Shanecei



Category: Baratale, Mafiatale - Fandom, Swapfell - Fandom, Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game), underswap
Genre: ? - Freeform, A/U, AU, Alternate Universes, Angst, Best Friend Papyrus, Cliche, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy, Fuff and Angst, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Multiple Universes, Multiverse, Non-binary Reader - Freeform, Reverese Harem, Timeline, mention of anorexia, mentions of eating disorders, non-binary, personality that is, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2019-09-29 06:08:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17197955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanecei/pseuds/Shanecei
Summary: You were your average human being. You had friends, a loving family, stable job, great house, an unhealthy obsession with video games. What more could you want?You were content with your life.Then skeletons crashed through a portal in your ceiling and decided to ruin everything.I wonder how this is going to end up?





	1. Trauma? More like Truman

The seat made a quiet sound of protest as I shifted in place; my legs had started to become numb from being draped over the armrest. My upper back, while slightly sore, could stand to hold itself up over the opposite armrest for a bit longer. The book was dying down now, the final battle won, and loose ends tied up.

A loud _CRASH_ broke me out of my trance, my relaxed posture tight and ready to spring as I looked over to the sound of scuffling.

_what…._

The multiverse?? skele-gods??? were lying?? on my (now broken) cofFEE TABLE????

The portal that rested in the ceiling snapped shut, also shocking me out of my reverie. From the glimpse I had, it looked pure white, but further up I peeked at the corner of a machine. The metal reflected into my eyes.

When they started to rise from their pile of bones, I realized I had to step in before anything else got broken, or I became a casualty in this fight to the probable death. Quickly acting, I turned my body to a more confident position (i.e. not like an idiot/five-year-old and like a normal person) and took a deep breath in.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” Note to self, don’t yell at the guys that could kill you. Second note to self, thank James for the self-defense lessons.

The moment I had shouted, Ink and Fresh froze in their tracks. The former mid strike with his brush, leaning forwards, so he stumbled once movement stopped and looked over at me. The latter was mid-kickflip over a string and landed with a jolt as his knees refused to buckle.

Now the third, most renown as the dangerous one, didn’t FREEZE. No, his instinct is FIGHT. He was already launching a new barrage of strings at Fresh and Ink, so it makes sense that he redirected them towards the sound, aka me. They had shot directly towards my chest and head, but luckily, I dodged in time.

This was achieved by throwing my book across the room and rolling off the armchair to the hardwood floor below. The book itself did more than I intended, my arm choosing to toss it towards Error himself; this led to him having to duck and the strings flying higher than he aimed.

After this quick moment of high adrenalin, he also appeared to freeze compared to the movement before anyway. In reality, he had just stopped and properly looked at his surroundings. He turned towards Ink and proceeded to yell at him. At least, that’s what I assume.

I, couldn’t actually hear anything coming from his mouth. I hummed quietly to confirm I wasn’t deaf, getting an odd look from Fresh in the process, before returning my attention to the extravagantly gesturing black-boned skeleton in my living room.

Ink responded much more calmly, raising and doing a placating gesture with his hands. He didn’t seem worried at all, so I guess he knew he could calm him or had done so before.

Realizing I was still on the floor, I stand and brush myself off. I had to suppress a flinch when Error whipped his head towards me. He started to march in my direction and pointed angrily towards the ceiling. I didn’t know what to do, but my feet had subconsciously taken me back. Once my elbow hit the wall, I realized I was trapped in.

Error slammed a hand next to my head and leaned over my cowering form. His hight was around mine, maybe slightly taller, but now he towered over me in presence and physicality. He bent over further to place face directly in front of mine. When he spoke, and I didn’t respond, he started to yell and jabbed a finger into my chest causing me to whimper.

Then it all stopped.

Error was pulled back from me as my knees failed. I slid down the wall, pulling my hands into my chest. Fresh was the one to come to my rescue, grasping Error on the arm and dragging him into the corner of the room, while Ink knelt beside me and tried to get my attention. He waved his hand in front of my face, but I was unresponsive, he tapped my shoulder with a similar result; getting slightly more worried, he took the most reasonable course of action. He grabbed my arm.

Normally I would be a bit uncomfortable at the gesture, but as my nerves were already frazzled this wasn’t the case.

A loud yelp escaped me as I ripped myself from his grip. Scrabbling backwards a couple feet until I came to properly. My chest heaved as I took in the situation; Error is pouting in the corner, Fresh is looking at me as his glasses show the ‘words’ “RU OK” and Ink appears shocked with a mixture of faint betrayal on his face.

I calmed my breathing and shut my eyes. Sighing deeply, I look towards Ink and stood up in sync with him.

“how about we sit down? you guys have a lot of explaining after all.” I gestured towards the chairs and walked over to the doorframe.

“i’ll be right back, please don’t break anything?” I hurry out of the living room and grab a notepad from my shelf in the games room. I look over at my desk and notice I left my fanfiction notes open; I blush brightly as they get shoved into an unused drawer and covered with some tax papers. I shut the door behind me as I leave.

Entering the room once more, I hand off the book to Ink with a quick explanation. A summary of my guess that I can’t hear them, probably because magic doesn’t exist here. I sit down in my usual place, ready for anything they could throw at me.

Well, anything except for more people falling through my even more broken table.

_my life has just gotten really weird. almost like a t.v show…_


	2. The Pen

As I didn’t sit in the same position they first found me in, I was a little more comfortable with the events that were happening. That is, anything above completely out of my element. This time it appeared to be the underswap brothers. I looked hopelessly over to Ink; he caught my eye and nodded slightly, affirming that he would deal with this group. I was glad, but this multiplied when Orange noticed Error.

The air became heavy, but I could still breathe easily, a glow was emitting from the taller skeleton and I was lucky enough to be behind him and opposite Error to avoid seeing his gaze. Once Ink got the angry carrot to calm and sit down, I coughed lightly to get his attention.

“since you’ve already taken, I guess there’s no need for me to offer you a seat?” I shift with an awkward smile on my face, more akin to a grimace if I’m honest. I look over at Fresh and gesture for him to write anything on the notepad that Ink gave to him.

A hopeless look answers me as I realise, I didn’t give them a pen. Flushing strongly, I search through my pockets. Standing up to pat down my chest, the flannel remains empty. The front of my jeans gives the same result and the back only had my phone. I missed the looks thrown my way when I did this, too flustered to focus on much else; I did notice when Blue waved an arm to grab my attention, and dramatically pointed to the side of his head. Slapping my hand to my left ear and causing it to ring, I sit once more, even more embarrassed, and toss the pen to Fresh.

While I wait for him to converse with the others, I take a few breaths and look around the room. The multiverse trio are here, as well as the underswap duo. _i wonder if anymore will fall through my ceiling?_ As I shock myself with how calm I seem to be, a notebook is placed onto my lap. Shaking my head slightly, I thank whoever gave the book to me and read what is written.

A couple are just basic questions, ‘Who are you?’ and ‘Are you dangerous?’. I answered all of them honestly but the last one made me pause, it read ‘Where are we?’. This wasn’t a question that most people would pause on, so in an attempt to cover myself and not look suspicious I used the pause to shift myself in the chair. I turned so my legs rested over one arm and my back on the other, just like before all of this happened.

“this, may be hard to believe. but. umm. this is the world that created all of you?” I wince and duck my head in preparation. Once a few moments pass and nothing is thrown, I lift my gaze back to the people sitting around me.

Error was unsurprisingly angry, as this is where the ‘glitches’ came from. Blue appeared surprised, and a contemplative look graced his features before he schooled it into an excitable grin? Orange seemed sceptical until looking towards the others and justifying the weirdness in his mind. Fresh looking vaguely uncomfortable with the information spaced out, and Ink. Well, let’s just say he looked like a kid in a candy store.

Snatching the ‘communication device’ out of my hands he proceeded to hurriedly scribble a note, practically shoving it back into my face once he was done. I giggled slightly at the display, causing a slight rainbow tint to overtake his face as I pushed the pad down slightly to be able to read it.

You’re the creators? Did you make one of us? I smiled shyly towards him. Hiding my face partially with one of my hands I whispered out a vaguely legible response.

“i-i made birdtale, i didn’t create much else though.” For some unknown reason, I didn’t expect ink to get even more excited, but he proved me wrong very quickly. Practically vibrating in joy, he launched him towards me and tackled me into a hug; due to the way I was sitting and the direction he flew from, we both went tumbling over the armrest my back once lay upon.

I didn’t take any damage though, as at the last second Ink flipped himself so I landed on his chest. I tried to get up, but the sudden movement had made me dizzy. Waving off the concerned looks from the half standing men, I rested my forehead on Ink’s chest. I glanced up at him, my chin now where my forehead once was.

He had a very apologetic expression on his face, and I could feel the puffs of air that escaped his mouth while he spoke. I smiled softly at him. Suddenly, he froze, and his hug became a bit tenser than before; a bright flush took over his cheeks as I tied my head curiously. _huh… the fandom was right._

I squeaked in slight shock when a pair of hands lifted me by the waist. Just how strong were these guys? I was placed back into my seat as Ink dusted himself off, still slightly glowing. I thanked Blue, a bit embarrassed at the sound I made, but he just waved it off with a vaguely smug smile? Ink sat down once more.

“now that I’ve been rescued from a tackle happy skeleton,” Ink flushed slightly at my jab, but I knew he took it in jest as he rolled his eye-lights good naturedly, “i believe we should talk about getting you guys home.”


	3. Who Wants Some Food?

Over the last 45 minutes, we have established that there is no way to get them home anytime soon. They did tell me how they ended up here though.

“so, what you’re telling me is; a bunch of universes were messing around with the machine to bring back Gaster, there was a magical fight between the skele-gods happening at the exact same time which causing a giant magical explosion, and the only reason my house isn’t flooded with more of you is because of timeline difference shenanigans.” I blurt out in one breath. I had to take a few gasps of air after and ignore an impressed but concerned cacophony of faces.

Getting a nod of approval from Ink and Blue, I take a few moments to breathe. It is a pretty important human function after all.

Suddenly standing, I stretch my arms above my head. I’m slightly disappointed in the lack of a crack, but I guess I will do some yoga or something later.

“well, i live in the middle of nowhere, so you guys can head outside. i’ll get started on dinner as i’m kinda hungry.” As soon as he words leave my mouth, Blue springs out of his seat and runs out the door. _good thing i left it unlocked; i’m almost certain he would have run through the wood otherwise._ Orange walked out calmly, but I feel like there was a sense of urgency in his stride, Ink only followed when Error and Fresh left the room. I’m assuming he was taking his job to look after the two nightmares quite seriously.

I shook my head and grinned. I followed them outside and rested my weight against the doorframe, looking over the small group. During the length of our chat, the sun had set and the stars had taken their place in the sky, glimmering in their unseen pictures.

A sigh was given. Rubbing my eyes, I left the men to their gawking and went back inside. Entering the kitchen by sliding across the wood to the tile, a childlike giggle of glee escaping, I put on the machine and threw in a pod. Grabbing a pot and filling it with water, I placed it on to boil as I shredded some cheddar and parmesan into bowl; I then tossed in the hard macaroni to soften, melted the cheesy goodness together with the sauce, and stirred into the pot. _i think i made enough for everyone…_

_wait… could they eat human food? i might have to eat macaroni leftovers for the next week. gross._

I turned around and jumped when I saw the group in the living room. They must have smelt the food and come back inside. I asked if they could eat human food, and luckily, they nodded their heads yes. Dishing out the food, I put them onto a tray I usually reserved for guests.

The macaroni filled 5 bowls, with only a little bit to spare for a sixth; I took it upon myself to have the smaller portion and set it aside before heading out into the living room.

“here you go guys, take any bowl. i’ll be back with some drinks in second.” I quickly returned with 5 mugs in one hand, a bottle of diet coke under my arm and my bowl of macaroni cheese. People always called me odd because I only use mugs, never glasses. I just never realized as I grew up with my whole family doing the same.

They didn’t seem to care about the beverage holding devices of drinks and happiness as they were too busy eating the food I had made. Smiling softly, I sat down in my armchair and started eating my portion.

It wasn’t long until everyone was chatting again. They paused in between bites to talk to one another, but unfortunately, I still couldn’t hear them. I looked down into my bowl, feeling slightly left out in my own home, and slowed down my eating to make the small amount of food last longer.

A hand invaded my field of view and placed a couple scoops of macaroni into my bowl. Lifting my head, I expected Ink or Blueberry but was surprised to see Fresh was the culprit. I tilted my head slightly, _did he not like the food?_

“broski, that was a tiny portion. get real, you need to eat more than that.” I gaped at Fresh. _I could hear him? and he cared about how much i ate?_ I shut my mouth, being snapped out of my shock when I saw him facepalm and turn to Error.

“don’t go baggin’ on me, ‘course i know, i’m not an airhead like-”

“i can hear you?” Everyone seemed to stop in the room. Even without the ability to hear all their voices, I could tell they had stopped talking and looked over towards us. Blinking again at my revelation, I gasped and brought my hands to my face to whisper again what I had just said.

Fresh’s grin only widened. Looking smugly over to Error, he raised his hand and ruffled my hair. The black-boned skeleton just threw his arms in the air and looked away, pointedly shoving more food into his mouth. Looking back over to me, his face became less smug and more… something. Softer maybe.

“he just needs to cool out,” a hand points over to his right, “but while it was flange of you to give us more to eat, you can’t leave yourself out either. you relate?” Fresh had placed his hands onto my shoulders, leaning down slightly and reducing his voice so only I could hear him. I nodded in confirmation, still a bit thrown off with the amount of care shown. He nodded once and straightened up to go sit back down.

 

 

Food was finished and plates put in the dishwasher. I was in the kitchen, grabbing a drink and contemplating the events that had occurred. Shaking my head, I decided not to ponder for too long and just to roll with the events. _a mental breakdown wont help anyone, they won’t hurt me and i won’t hurt them, so why does it matter?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya,  
> it's me again, I'm just here to say that I adore the comments you leave, and wish I had more time to write for you guys!
> 
>  
> 
> The main reason im not is because my parents bought me a laptop (which is the only thing I use to write), but sorta guilt trip me every time I use it???? Like im on it for 15 mins and they come upstair like "oh, why do you not sit downstairs anymore?" when im doing exactly the same as before but its not my phone.
> 
> Now you don't have to read that mini rant, but this is something you might want to! I'm gonna hold a....
> 
> POLL!!!! Well, a couple. You guys get to vote for the character you want to get a dedicated chapter to first! (poll 1)
> 
> Orange  
> Blue  
> Ink  
> Error  
> Fresh
> 
> AND AND AND!! You get to choose the next au to drop in (badum tss) (poll 2)
> 
> Fell  
> SwapFell (FellSwap? Please correct me with my writing in future oof)  
> Mafia  
> Bara
> 
> ALSO (this is the last one i promise) i was thinking about doing a fic with only one au, and where the reader has anorexia. I've never seen a fic like this before (at least for this fandom) but im gonn need help to choose the au. So just recommend one you want to see! (Poll(ish) 3)
> 
> Seeya next time my absolute weirdos.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *yeets this chapter and a chocolate bar out from the void  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> * a hand slinks out of the void hole  
> * it snatches back the chocolate with a slight hiss

Checking the time, I see it’s about 3 in the afternoon. _i could have sworn it was later than that, but i guess it’s what i get after the day it’s been_. I sigh and wipe my hand through my hair. Shaking it out again, I put my cup by the edge of the sink and head to the game room.

When I enter, I find the room has a few occupants. Orange, Fresh and Error. The former waves halfheartedly when I enter before turning back to the game shelf. It was pitifully empty for its size; only one of the four shelves had any cases on them and, even then, it wasn’t full up. Wandering past the knitting overlord, I stand beside the tall carrot. I glance at him out the corner of my eye (even though he was half crouching, _curse my shortness_ ).

“see anything good?” He nods and point towards one of the cases. Taking it, I head over to the X-box and, switching the console and TV on, put it in to run.

The title screen for Outlast shows up in all its glory; the oscillating background displays a night vision wheelchair with the title splashed across the top of the display, the writing giving a stark contrast to the darkness. I wave over Orange to sit next to me as I give a quick briefing of the game.

“okay, so, Outlast has this dude go into an abandoned insane asylum in the middle of no-where. he’s meant to be an investigative journalist or whatever, but i think he’s just an idiot. you can’t see without the camera's night vision and you’ll need to collect batteries to power it, aaand i think that’s all i can say without spoiling anything.” I hand him the controller, show him how to select a new game, and sit back to watch him play.

 

 

It was about half an hour into the game, and the first surprising information has made itself known.

Orange, was _shit_ at this game.

When he had to hide, he ended up walking directly in front of them. He consistently forgot to charge his camera, and overlooked so many batteries it made me want to _tear my hair out!_ Error seemed to be amused by my mounting frustration as Orange continued to play through the game. Fresh was reading a comic book from unknown origins, but he had placed it down in order to watch the game on the TV.

When he got caught for the _fifth fucking time_ , I couldn’t watch this anymore.

“oh for fu _dge_ s, give me that!” I snatch the controller from his hands. He jolts in surprise and I see a quick flash of colour, sending a slight spark of fear through me. I ignore it in favour of restarting the game from the beginning.

“you, are officially the worst player i have ever seen. you don’t even learn from where you get caught the previous four times!” I quickly speed through the first section of the game, breezing past the place where he died multiple times. He, Orange, seemed intrigued by my knowledge of the game; Error was watching over his strings, trying to be inconspicuous about it; Fresh was still the same as before.

Time passed quickly. I saved at one of the calmer points of the game and stood up. Turning to the guys, I suddenly notice the newcomers in the room. Ink and Blueberry were standing behind the couch I was just sitting on. I raise my hand and give them a small wave and smile.

“hey guys, didn’t hear you come in.” I look over at the time.

“it’s getting pretty late, i’ll set up some of the rooms for you to sleep in.” I wave for them to follow me and show them to the spare rooms. Ink and Blue choose a room together, adamant on having a “sleepover” together. Fresh and Orange chose a room together, I don’t really know why; that left Error.

“welp, looks like your bunking with me.” He rolls his eyes and enters the only room with decorations on the door. _i’m an adult! i can have stickers on my door if i want… at least they’re not the Undertale ones._

Following close behind him, I noticed he’s stopped in the middle of the room looking at something. I know what’s on that wall. I half run half jog across the room and quickly pull down the poster. Smiling awkwardly at his blank expression, I roll it up and push it into a corner. When I turn around again there’s a piece of paper being held in front of Error.

why do you have a poster of me and rainbow fighting?

I ponder what to say for a brief second. I could be honest and most likely get judged; or I could lie and risk him knowing I was lying, and have to tell the truth anyway.

“i thought you guys looked really cool.” I turn away and start to prepare for sleep. I do this to ignore the slight blush on my face, and it needed to be done anyway. He taps me on the shoulder and, scratching behind his head, holds up the paper again.

where will i be sleeping? I look away as well. I walk over to my drawers and grab a new set of pyjamas and socks. As I did so I responded to his question.

“we’re going to have to share my bed. none of the others in the house have any sheets.” I exit the room and head into the hallway, walking over to the bathroom to change. Shutting the door behind me, I breath a sort sigh.

_he’s not even been here for a day and you’re forcing him into a bed with you. great work, genius._


	5. Chapter 5

Me and Error, after I handed out some shirts to the guys, changed in separate rooms. Privacy was respected, so all should have been okay, right? Unfortunately, the universe hates me so of course it wasn’t.

I didn’t have enough sheets and it was way too late to go and grab any, so we had to share a bed. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was the beginning of summer. A lovely time for all to enjoy, but me in this very specific moment; clothing was a devilish necessity to be modest, so I wore the tank top with thin straps, and shorts. Shorts with skeleton hands grasping the ass.

_curse you Susan, you had no idea i would ever be in this situation, but curse you anyway._

When I re-entered the room, Error was already in the bed, facing the wall. A small weight was lifted, as he wouldn’t see the embarrassing design. I tossed my day clothes into the laundry basket in the bathroom, so all I had to do was plug in my phone to charge. I walked over to my bed and started reaching out before realising. The charger was on the table, against the wall, _right in front of Error’s face._

I just sigh. Today has already been a disaster, what is one more for the list?

“hey Error, can you move for a sec?” He turns his head towards me, seeing my phone, and lifts himself onto his elbows. When he doesn’t move more than that, I just roll my eyes and lean over him, no longer caring in favour of getting to sleep. I plug the wire into my phone and stand up straight once more. Error falls back onto his side creating no more eye contact.

I climb in beside him and pull the covers up to my shoulders, bunching it slightly to cover my chin. I exhale, releasing the last of my stress, and close my eyes. Burying my face into the blankets, I let the darkness embrace me.

 

 

 

 

When I awaken once more, it is a slow rise to the surface. I don’t snap awake to my alarm, it rouses me slowly, coaxing me from the dream that never took a residence in my mind. The warmth from my hazed mind spreads to mingle with the warmth that curled around me. I pull the fabric wrapped in my hands closer to my face to bury within, but when I meet a resistance I frown slightly.

I pull my eyelids open against my hazy wishes and turn my gaze upwards. It takes me a few seconds to process my view, but when I do, I tense all over.

I could see the underside of Error’s jaw. The gap where his skull met his vertebrae was large enough to fit my fist, even with the bones themselves being thicker than the average human’s. His chest rose slowly; up and down, up and down. _does he breathe? do they all breathe?_ I was just glad that I wasn’t freaking out. Touch never was my strong suit after all.

My tensing seemed to wake him. He shifted, nuzzling his head into the top of mine and taking a deeper ‘breath’ in. When he opened his eyes, he leaned back slightly to give me a view of his face.

He eyes were half lidded and his irises seemed softer round the edges, the yellow blurred into the red voids, while the black pupil of his left eye looked larger than usual; his mouth was turned up into a soft smile that elongated the blue streaks draped across his cheekbones. The loose grasp he has around me were oddly comforting; one on my lower back while the other was resting on my shoulder, his thumb rubbing small, slow circles into my skin.

My hands unconsciously gripped his borrowed shirt tighter as his gaze remained unwavering in my direction. The few seconds that our eyes met felt like a lifetime as a prickling sensation started to consume my upper arms. The small movement from my part acted like a knife through the tension building on my side of the experience.

Error’s face quickly contorted, eyes widening and pupils sharpening as he took in our predicament. The peaceful expression he once had was now a piece of the past. His arms extracted themselves from around me in a hurried motion, my hands also losing the grip on his shirt. I used my bodyweight to get into a position where I could stand up and quickly escaped the room as my mouth worked in overtime.

“okay! i’m gonna go make breakfast i’ll see you downstairs or not that’s fine hahaha i’ll just go okay bye, Error.”

My speed walk carried me through the hallway, but slowed as I went down the stairs. I gently rested my hand onto the banister, feeling the grain of the wood sliding beneath my fingertips as a nostalgic way of grounding myself. By the time I entered the living room, my heart rate had slowed to a slightly faster than normal beat, and the sharp, painless pricks no longer assaulted my arms.

I followed the smell of pancakes into the kitchen. My nose appeared to guide me well as a steaming stack of fluffy cakes rested on the island. I tore my focus away from the delicious monument to see who cooked them. My gaze found its way to Blueberry who was happily humming along to an oddly familiar tune as he flipped his latest creation.

“heya, Blueberry, you make all of these?” I asked in greeting, raising my hand in a mock wave when he swivelled his head around to gaze out the corner of his eye. He grinned brightly and nodded in answer, before taking the pan of the heat and depositing it into the sink. After taking out the pancake of course.

I greeted Ink and Fresh in kind when they appeared in the kitchen, Ink waving enthusiastically to me as he sat down.

“What’s crackalackin’, homeslice?” I ‘pfft’ slightly as I held in my laughter. _haven’t ever heard that word unironically before._ My hand raised to cover my mouth to conceal my smile, but Fresh must have been amused by my laughter as he just grinned at me, his glasses quickly changing to say ‘NI CE’ before taking a seat at the island next to Ink.

I sat in the stool across from the Creator, just in time for Error to enter the room. As I take a quick glance around, I notice that he is the only one still in my borrowed shirt. I don’t notice much else though as we both quickly avert eye contact. I finally notice Orange at the island, and boy do I notice a lot.

If I thought he looked tired before, he was almost dead now. More dead than a skeleton can be that is. The bags beneath his sockets not only grew in size, but darkened in conjunction with his already dark pupils. I took pity or the poor guy and got up to make some coffee, not noticing Ink wiggling his eyebrows at Error while pointedly looking towards me.

I put a mug in, and drop a pod into the machine. While I wait, I look at the time, and take the now steaming coffee mug out from the holder, before my head whips back to the clock.

“sh _iz_ i’m gonna be late!” I carefully unload the mug into OJ’s hands before shooting off to my room, leaving behind the men to look confusedly at each other. When I return downstairs, I’m pulling my belt through the loops in my jeans and hopping to pull a sock up. I dodge around Blueberry before he has the chance to move, and yank open the fridge to take out a bento box I prepared the night before for this exact situation. Good thing it was before the crypt fell through my ceiling. _i’ve gotta get a new coffee table, and thank the guys for cleaning up the debris._ Tossing that into my bag along with a pair of chopsticks, I sling it onto my back and shove my mis-matched socks into a pair of trainers. I take off towards the door.

“woah!” I have to pull to a stop when Fresh appears in front of me. He has an unamused expression on his face as he dangled some food in front of me.

“I get you’re wigging out, but remember yesterday?” I nod once and take the pancake from his hand, quickly taking a large bite. I grab the helmet from the coat rack, shut the door behind me, finish off the pancake and peel away from the house on my bike.

 

 

 

 

“…did anyone else notice the phalanges on their shorts?”

“And Why Where You Looking There?”

“hey, no sass until i’ve had my coffee.”

“Your Mug Is Empty, Brother.”


	6. Work like the Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Btw, just so you guys know, I'm planning on having at least 2, maaaybe 3 arks for this story.  
> At the moment we are in the first once, but with how the plan is coming along, this might get to a very large chapter number.  
> Should I create a series and add the next ark in that, or should I keep it all as one fic? Opinions would be great!
> 
>  
> 
> Alright, enjoy the fic! No skellies this chapter, but it does help to set up some other things :)

I make it to work with no time to spare. I flick down the kickstand once I pull into my parking space and pull the key out.

The door opens with a soft ‘shfft’ as I shake my hair out. I wave at the reception, make the fifth mental note to learn his name, and take the elevator to my office.

 

 

 

 

Well, I say office because its where I work, but it’s more of a lab. I have to scan my thumb and iris, along with entering a code before I can open the door, but I’m quickly reminded of why we have these safety precautions when I have to duck a flying bolt. I turn my deadpan gaze to Susan, and rise from my crouched position.

“did LOFA fuck up, or did you throw it.” She visibly sweat-drops and tussles he back of her curly hair, hiding her other hand behind her back. LOFA, Location Oscillating Frenzy Abstraction, was our latest, and surprisingly our safest, contraption.

“Would you believe me if I said it was LOFA? ‘cause I’m saying it was LOFA.” Breaking my gaze, I roll my eyes and toss it back to her. I shrug off my leathers in favour of the lab coat before flopping into my seat, dropping my bag and helmet onto the desk on my left, and booting up the computer on the main table.

“what happened? any progress?” |I ask offhandedly.

“Not really.” I fall into the rhythm of work. I glance over the briefing, and nod to a barely awake Carl when he joins the realm of the living.

Once everyone has been caught up, i.e. me and Carl, we get started on the next experiment. I get up out of my seat, grab a pair of safety glasses, place a screw under the machine, and flip the switch.

 

 

 

 

“Fuck this! It always breaks on arrival, and if it doesn’t it’s as fragile as an old man! I’m taking my break.” Susan storms out of the lab, muttering under her breath. I let my forearm fall back over my eyes as I lean back even further, giving another kick to slowly spin the chair. _she probably has the right idea; old man screws aren’t getting us anywhere. wait… that’s it! old man screws!_ I leant back to far, and a loud ‘thump’ sounds when my back collides with the floor.

Carl looks over his desk in concern, just in time to see me frantic scramble to the computer. Not bothering to pick up the chair, I kick it out of the way and pull up the code for LOFA. My trained eyes efficiently skim the code, and finding that my assumption was correct, widen in glee and unbridled exhilaration.

“Carl! Holy fuck, Carl!” I franticly wave him over, even though he was already halfway to my desk.

“Dude, what? I’ve never seen you this worked up before, you good?” Always the concerned one, he reaches out to place his palm against my head. I instinctually dodge out of the way and reply with the same enthusiasm I showed before.

“Time! We moved the objects through space, but we never specified the time we wanted them back!” I finally lift up the chair and plonk down, only to start frantically coding. “The reason they always came back so fragile, or even as dust, was because they had degraded over time! That one time we got it perfect and couldn’t replicate it again? The random time used by LOFA was short! Only a few months instead of the average centuries or millennia!” Carl steadily became more excited as I spoke, and by the time I was finished, he shared my enthusiasm.

“Fuck, we gotta code this!” He leaped back to his station, and we coded the machine in sync on the specialized program. By the time half an hour had passed, Susan had returned and we filled her in.

“Of course, I miss the greatest breakthrough of the century because I got stressy.”

When lunch rolled around, I almost didn’t stop for it. When my mind registered that I was skipping a meal, I was reminded of this morning. Fresh’s concern and warning didn’t go unheeded, so I finished up the line I was on, and spoke to the others.

“I’m heading out for lunch, you guys want anything?” I collected my box and cutlery, dropped my phone in a pocket, and was at the door when I finally received a response.

“Could I have a cookie from the machine?”

“Ditto.” I roll my eyes at the hardworking couple and promise to bring them their cookies. They never eat healthy; I’m surprised they don’t get sick more often. _like husband like wife i suppose_. Wandering down the hallway, I hop into the lift with a grin on my lips. I hum the tune I’ve had stuck in my head since this morning as I ascend a floor. Once I reach the staff room, I claim a seat by the window wall and drop my box. I grab the cookies before I forget, fill a cup with water from the cooler and relax in the sun.

Cracking open the box, I dive into the left section with the rice and egg rolls. The only sound is the occasional ‘clack’ of my chopsticks, and the hum of the air conditioning. The name of the song finally returns to me. Reaching into my coat for my phone, I plug my headphones into my phone and search my music library. I tap on the song “His Theme”, pop in my headphones, and gaze out into the world through the glass.


	7. Budding Romance

Arching my back over the chair, I stretch my spine. My hands reached as far behind me as they could, grasping at an unseen object as a small noise escaped my throat. I check the time, nodding to myself as I shut the computer after a long day’s work.

“hey, Carl?” I try to grab I attention. I have to speak another request before he notices me. He gazes up with some cookie hanging loosely from his lips. A loud ‘hmmf’ escapes, and I know that’s all the communication I’m gaining. It always is at the end of the day.

“i’m heading out; got some stuff to do at home so i can’t overtime the next couple weeks.” I don’t notice his expression change as I’m gathering my stuff. The point when I do realise his intentions is when Susan tosses a pen at my head and I’m forced to dodge.

“You have a life? Since when?” He raises a shoulder, poking fun at me like usual. I could tell that there was an undercurrent of genuine curiosity though. I was the one that had to be forced home at the end of our shifts as I was absorbed into my work, coding like no tomorrow and researching with a ‘worrying vigor'; according to Susan at least.

“since yesterday. seeya.” I wave over my shoulder as I escape the room. I breathe a slight sigh of relief once I do. _i love their persistence, but i know i won’t be able to lie believably enough for them. good thing i could get away._ Hopping into the lift once more, I pop an earphone to my left ear and put my playlist to shuffle.

I nod to the receptionist with a smile as I shrug on my leather jacket. It’s only when I leave the building it hits me; I forgot to get his name! _this is getting ridiculous, it’s been almost 4 months since he joined!_ Berating myself lightly in my head, underlining that stupid mental note, I put my helmet onto my bike’s engine. I open the compartment and collect my gloves. Once they are securely on my hands, I pull my helmet on, flip down the visor and settle into the seat. The engine rumbles to life, and I roll out of the parking space.

Bouncing my head along to “Señorita”, I weave through the traffic. My mouth follows along to the words, even without my full understanding of the Spanish lyrics, I could still appreciate the beat and energy of the music. The music ends too soon for my tastes, yet my disappointment is short lived.

I pull to a stop at a traffic light as the next song begins. A grin grows on my face as I recognise the song, “Dustale: Source of Savagery”. I turn up the volume, and right when the lights turn green, the chorus has begun to flood my senses with the beat. My heart sings in time with heavy drums, and I speed up to match the feel of the insanity that is portrayed.

I slow once I transition to the dirt road. My bike easily traverses the ground, throwing up a small dust cloud beneath the back wheel. Pausing the music, I roll into the open garage and unclip my phone from its holder as the door closes automatically. I stand and straighten my back. The aches from sitting all day have stiffened my muscles. Sitting on a bike probably doesn’t help much, but its way better than having to sit in a car with the rest of traffic. I roll my shoulders and open the door to the entrance hall.

My shoes are pulled off as I use my spare hand to unclip the strap to my helmet. I quickly tug off my other trainer and amble to the kitchen as I pull my helmet off, shaking my hair out like usual. When I look up, I notice that a few of the guys are here. Orange was looking at the clock, Fresh was sitting on the kitchen island and Ink appeared to be cooking something.

“hey guys, how’s your day? sorry for abandoning you.” I shift to lean against the doorframe as I tuck the helmet under my arm. I unzip my jacket as Fresh answers my question.

“S’up, you really booked it outta here this morning. Nice chonies by the by.” I tilt my head, hand midway through combing my hair.

“what’s a chon-.” I cut myself of with a noise of surprise. I bang my head on the wall as I flinch back from the book held in front of my face. The hand on my chest could feel the strength of my heartbeat as I processed the situation.

Error had pulled back his arm due to my actions. He looked annoyed, and from the corner of my eyes I could see that Ink was looking at me in concern. I took the paper from Error, avoiding all eye contact, and read what was on the notepad as I waved of Ink’s worry.

 **I thought you were Ink.** I was confused for a moment, what could he mean by that? But then the memory from this morning hit me, and my eyes widened comically. _they’re a thing! holy shit i can’t believe it!_

I ginned at Error brightly, wiggling my eyebrows as I held up the notepad. He flushed a dark blue and snatched the book from me, tearing out the page and shoving it into the bin with an angry expression. I laughed at his expression while I shrugged off my jacket, starting to feel the heat of indoors getting to me. I drape it on the coat rack, then lay the helmet on top.

“well, that was-.” I cut myself off when I get a sharp glare from Error, punctuated with a sharp ‘slap’ of the notebook on the island. My chuckling returns however, when I see Ink wink at him, causing his blush to darken his cheekbones further.

“okay, okay! no talking, got it. i’ll be getting you guys some clothes online, so i'm gonna need your opinions; i’ll also get some sheets on the spare beds for tonight as well.” I head to the living room.

The weight of a gaze doesn’t stall me, even when it turns to a type of piercing unknown to this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EYYYY DID I GET YA


	8. I Need a Nap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not to jinx it, but I've had a pretty consistent updating schedule for the past few weeks! Must be the kudos, comments and bookmarks ;P
> 
> Enjoy the new chapter broskis!

After a quick hop, skip and a jump up the stairs, I burst into my room. Stripping off the lab coat I forgot to take off, I grab and return to the living room with my laptop in hand. I flop down onto the unoccupied space on the couch across from Blueberry; who appeared to be engrossed within the show playing at the moment. I shake off a yawn and plug the laptop into the socket. I pull up a cheap clothing website and dive into the men’s section.

“hey, Blue? wanna come pick out some clothes?” His eyes brighten considerably and he all but vaults himself out of his seat. He’s nodding enthusiastically as I 'pfft' at his enthusiasm.

“okay, so what do you think looks good?”

 

 

 

 

As expected, they all had their specific tastes. An overarching theme was reached for the majority of them though.

Blueberry wanted brighter colours complemented with black; Ink asked for practical clothing, and being stain resistant was a must; Fresh just said anything bright as he would tailor it himself with one of my old sewing kits, which I found pretty cool as I didn’t expect him to custom make his clothing; Orange wanted only hoodies, tank tops and khaki shorts, so this led to me convincing him to get a single pair of joggers and jeans; and finally Error, who provided no guidance and just chose it all himself with a price limit I gave him.

Now, my bank account wasn’t going to be put it any danger, but this was still an insane amount to spend all in one sitting. I just sat back and waited for the inevitable phone call from the bank, verifying that yes, I am buying all of this, and yes, this is a shit ton of clothing that I will personally not be wearing.

Shutting off the computer, I finally let myself relax.

My eyes drift shut as I release all my breath in one, long exhale, becoming one with the chair I sat on. My breathing steadily evened out as I listened to the show that continued to murmur in the background of my quickly hazing mind.

I get pulled from my rest by a snapping sound. Opening my eyes, I see Ink was the culprit. Tilting my head to the side, I quickly receive the answer to my unasked question when a movie is thrust into my face. A quick exhale of humour escapes as I lower the case slightly, allowing me to read the title. Once I nod in approval, as a few of my movie had sex scenes that I don't think I can watch with them, he quickly bounds over to the DVD player and sets up the television to play.

The rest of the guys had entered the room while I rested my eyes. I looked around and saw that yes, while I do have enough seats, it would probably be more comfortable to all sit on the floor. Forgetting to announce my plans to anyone, I leave the room to gather some pillows and a few thin blankets. Once I return, the movie title screen is running.

Quickly dumping out my arms, I finally realise I should tell the guys what I’m doing.

“i thought that, since the chairs aren’t the most comfortable, it would be better if we just made a nest on the floor.” Blue and Ink eagerly dive into the task, helping to arrange the pillows into a large mat on the floor. Orange just flops down onto the first completed section, falling asleep the moment he hit the ground, Error sits down cross legged and I sit beside him, me being in the centre of the mat. Fresh rejoins the group from the kitchen wandering in with a slightly confused look on his face.

“What’s up with the crib? Looks funky.” I roll my eyes and pat the space next to me. He takes the invitation, and gets a look of understanding when I say that we are watching a movie. Blue and Ink finish their jobs by tossing a few blankets to us; one for me, Fresh and Error, the second for themselves and Orange.

The blanket is shifted as I lie down on my stomach, resting my upper body on my elbows under the tent supported by bodies. Fresh joins me on the floor with a grin, placing his hat on the floor beside us and letting the blanket flutter down. After a few seconds, Error joins with a huff, clearly just wanting the blanket and not because he wanted to lay beside us, letting the final side of the fort collapse. The movie is started with a few clicks from the remote.

 

 

 

 

 

After the movie had reached its climax, I took a quick glance around the room to see who was awake as it was getting late. Orange was still asleep, but Blueberry had taken refuge on his chest so his arm unconsciously wrapped around his brother’s shoulders. I smiled softly at the display, before shifting my attention to Ink. He was leaning against the couch, one leg bent and arms stretched across the seat. His head was leaning back at an awkward angle and a snore could be heard emanating from behind his teeth.

Error was also passed out, his back towards the others and facing me. He looked much calmer asleep. I never noticed how tense he was, but now that he wasn’t conscious, it was much more obvious that he harbored some kind of burden. I turned my head to look at Fresh.

He looked contemplative. I furrowed my brows and tilted my head towards him, silently asking if he was okay. He sighed lightly and gave me a wry grin. I rested my hand on his shoulder, refusing to break the silence that had settled across the room. Fresh didn’t have the same reservations though, and scattered the blanket with a quiet whisper.

“I think we should talk.”


	9. Reservations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OwO

A heavy feeling settles itself in my gut. _what have i done wrong?_ I manage to keep my expression neutral, and give him a quiet go head. He sighs, and looks towards the finishing movie. Looks like the credits would be rolling soon. _focus, not now._

“I feel like I owe you an explanation, y’know, about the whole food thing.” I’m slightly shocked at the lack of slang. His speech heavily reminded me of a certain skeleton, but I couldn’t say for certain as I had never met him before. I didn’t linger on the thought for long as Fresh interrupted before it could get away from me.

“I never meant to be weird or creepy, it’s just…” A second sigh; this time he dragged a hand down his face, keeping it held over his teeth and turned away from me a fraction more. He quickly gathered his thoughts, and turned his gaze towards me with an openly vulnerable expression, tears beginning to gather in his eyes. His hand shifted his hand to the back of his neck, trying to subconsciously release the tension that was building there.

“I’ve seen someone starve before, okay? They, they didn’t like themselves very much, so they tried to… fix it, make them ‘worthy’ of, something. Obviously, it didn’t work, heh, it was never enough for them. I just, really don’t want to see that happen again. Watching someone wither in front of you, while you have the chance to stop it as well! I, I don’t know what I would do if I let it happen to someone else. I think, no I know, that they would be disappointed with me.” My heart went out to Fresh with a wrenching tug. I would never think that by me forgetting to grab breakfast, I would dig up trauma for another person. He must have been really close to this person, as it appeared to wound him deeply when they left.

I felt horrible for causing this; he shouldn’t have to tell me, a stranger, any of this. Yet he just did.

“i… i didn’t know. i’m so sorry.” I reach out to him and place a hand on his shoulder. I did so as if he was made of glass, worried that just my touch would cause him to shatter. My worries came true, when he broke down. His face contorted as he finally let the tears fall, they rolled down his face and fell onto the pillow below as his eye sockets squinted to try and contain his sorrow. He reached out towards me and pulled me into an embrace.

I froze up for the briefest of moments, but lay down beside him and returned with equal vigor. My hand rubbed small circles into his shoulder as my arms wrapped around his chest and under his arms. I could feel his body shake with the force of his muffled sobs as he buried his face into my hair.  All I could do was hold him as he let it out, giving quiet condolences and promises to never skip a meal, mixed in with general murmurs of soothing noises and words.

This continued for a while. I never let up my tight grip, even when he quieted to the occasional sniff. Only when he lifted his head to rest his chin on my head, did he speak once more.

“I’m sorry.” He sounded truly remorseful.

“don’t be.” I instantly responded. He had no right to be sorry for being upset, especially with all of what he had been through.

“let’s just go to sleep.” Fresh nodded in response, giving a quick squeeze, which I reciprocated in kind. He fell asleep quickly in response to the tiering conversation.

_what happened to you? it’s almost like i knew everything, but then time continued to develop him as a person. i shouldn’t assume anything about any of them now._

With that as my final thought, I snuggled further into his embrace, the sweet release of sleep overtaking my consciousness from the waking realm. I, no, we will deal with tomorrow together.

Taking it one day at a time.

 

 

 

 

When it was time to wake up, I was still in denial of having to get up again. Looking blearily up at Fresh, I quickly look him over for any signs of sorrow. He was still in a peaceful sleep, so I went to pry his arms from my waist, only to notice that his arms were still located around my shoulders. Now with a slight hint of confusion tainting my sluggish features, I turned to follow the lower arms back to their rightful owner. I should have noticed who it was sooner if I’m honest.

 _he’s the only skeleton with black bones after all._  Shaking my head at my slight stupidity, I try to come up with a plan to escape. Error was pressed flush against my back, his breaths on my neck confirming that he believed I was his lover Ink, and I was tucked under Fresh’s skull with my arms pinned between his chest and my own.

I release a sigh, accompanied by a small grin. First on the agenda, figure out how to avoid waking them. I lay there for a few moments in their comfortable embrace.

 _well, this isn’t_ that _bad._ Committing to being a teddy bear for another hour or so, I shift into a more comfortable position, causing a groan of disapproval to emanate from behind me, and settle down once more.

With a sigh of approval and a nuzzle to the back of my neck, I pass out once more, oblivious to the importance of what I just overlooked in my haze of sleepiness.


	10. De Ja Vu

_thinking back on it, i can be_ really _dense at times._ I purse my lips slightly. It was around 4 o’clock, so I still had some time before making dinner. Choosing to read a book in my down time, I was sitting with my legs across the sofa and my back against Fresh’s side; Blueberry was also in the room, but he was assembling a puzzle I had found in my cupboard.

After the talk we had where skeletons came out of their closets ( _no, bad joke, bad_ ), we had become much more comfortable with each other. Physical contact had become more common between us. I didn’t really know why, it just happened.

When I finally woke up for real, I noticed Fresh was gone. Going to push myself up, I was quickly stopped in a strangely familiar embrace to the previous night. _right, Error_.

I managed to escape without waking him and went to go make a brunch for all of us. It was too late to call it a breakfast after all. I was frying some bacon when a touch around my waist made me jump, looking out the corner of my eye I relaxed when I saw Fresh.

“Thanks.” A quiet murmur was the greeting I received. Smiling softly, I only turned back to the food after a soft pat to his shoulder.

That wasn’t the main evet of the morning though.

As I acclimated to the body resting on my back and the arms around my waist, I finally relaxed once again. He was very helpful with the food preparations in a lazy sort of way. Minimal movement was allowed as he didn’t want to move anything but an arm to grab ingredients, but when he suddenly pulled back, I frowned slightly. Turning to ask him if he was okay, I froze in shock at the voice I heard.

That’s right, a _voice_. Turning my head quickly to the entrance to see the perpetrator, I was unsurprised at who it was. Error was grumbling a slew of expletives as he plodded towards a seat, my gaze never leaving him once. I noticed Fresh look at me with a confused expression, but a look of realization quickly formed over his face.

“Error?” He stopped his whining and looked up at me. He began to speak once more with a glare plastered across his visage.

“What do you-“

“hah! i can hear you!” You could hear a pin drop. Error stopped responding and just stared at me. This was the first time I saw him taken off guard, his jaw slightly dropped and shoulders drooped. I sweat dropped when the time elapsed exceeded twenty seconds. I turn my attention to Fresh who looked highly amused.

“sooo, is he like, rebooting?” He quickly glanced over to me before whipping his attention back to the other skeleton.

“Probably, don’t see this all that often after all. You really shocked him, Biscuit.” I let my amusement break through before double taking. I re-listen to the sentence in my mind before confirming out loud.

“biscuit?” Questioning him as I tilted my head. He looked surprised at my light accusation.

“Well, yeah.” Noticing he doesn’t want to expand any further, I just appreciate the expression. _Biscuit, I like it._ With a grin and a slight flush, I turn back to the stove to leave glitchy to his reboot.

I had plated up all the food and was about to call the others when Error finally had a semblance of movement. A quick blink out the corner of my eye drew my attention. I placed down the plate and turned fully towards him, shifting my weight to one leg and placing my arms on my hips in a sassy manner.

“you back to the realm of the living, partner?” A fake Texan automatically took over my vocal cords. Error looked highly amused for a sew seconds, opening his mouth to say something before he seemed to shake himself out of it.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” Shrugging at me in a surprising show of laziness, he took a seat. I yelled for the other guys that food was ready and took my own seat. It was where I usually sat, but now I wasn’t alone. Fresh ginned from beside me and ruffled my hair. I pouted at him playfully and just shook my hair out again.

Ink and Blueberry ran into the room. Orange walked in with an aura of tired, but all three thanked me for making food. Two with much more enthusiasm than the other. We all dug in, and I joked around with Fresh. Error occasionally piped in, leading me to explain the new situation to the other men in the room.

Orange instantly became contemplative, intrigued at the information. I was also interested in finding an answer, but I decided to put it off until later. Otherwise the brunch continued as normal.

 

 

 

 

It had been a few days since then. Me and Fresh seemed to have broken a sort of barrier, being much more comfortable with each other within an almost instant. We did get a few curious glances when we rested on the couch together, me in his lap, but only a single verbal question was asked.

“We just feel comfortable, that such a big deal?” I glanced up in confusion at the sudden words from Fresh. I noticed that he was talking to Blueberry and assumed that he was just asking why we were so chill with each other.

Grinning up at Fresh, I open my hand for a high-five. He grins back down at me and slaps my palm with his own. Laughing lightly, I turn back to my book. I get a glance of Error over my page and look up.

“What’s up?” He blinks and turns away, gazing towards the television. Tilting my head slightly, I shrug to myself and actually continue reading my book.

If only things were allowed to stay peaceful for a week.


	11. Really?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I come giving gifts from the heavens as I wrote two more chapters and forgot to post this one.
> 
> *blargs glitter from the cosmos
> 
> *.....they're tiny dicks
> 
> *you hear a shout of "dickfetti!* echoing in the void

It started out normal enough. Well as normal as things could be with video game characters in your house.

Me and Fresh were cooking lunch in the kitchen. A simple meal of fried rice, where Fresh didn’t really help in the slightest. We were just finishing up so the other guys had just been called down to eat. I didn’t expect it. I don’t think anyone did.

A sudden ‘CRASH’ knocked everyone’s mood into an on guard, adrenalin fueled panic. Ink had grabbed his brush from the corner of the room, Error had managed to summon some strings, Blueberry shifted his weight to one foot and created a femur, Orange stood more upright with his jaw clenched while Fresh pushed me behind him. He didn’t really need to do that in hindsight, I had already dropped the spatula and gripped his shoulders, hiding myself.

Our attention was drawn to the center of the living room. I, unfortunately, saw none of the action; all I really noticed was two blurs of black, white and red, the shorter of which launching themselves at Ink, while a taller one fell down onto their back. What threw me off particularly was the brief moments of speaking.

"Hey guys! Glad you made it.” Ink sounded very friendly towards the new arrivals, but his expression said otherwise, schooled into a stern visage. _why does it sound like he was expecting them to come through?_

"Shut Up Rainbow, You’re Just Lucky I Didn’t Kill You For Making Me Wait To Come Here. Just Help Me Make This Realistic.“ I straighten from my slightly hunched position out of shock. _wait, are they **acting** out a fight?_ I decide not to tell them the specifics at what I heard, not really knowing why but deciding to follow my gut instinct. I hop onto my tip-toes and whisper into Fresh’s ear. Well, where his ear would be on a human.

“i can hear them speaking.” It became quickly apparent then that I didn’t whisper it. Either that or Ink has ridiculously sensitive hearing. He stopped the fake(?) fight and whipped his head to the kitchen doorway.

“Wait, what did you he-“ That was the exact moment that the portal snapped shut. I was shut off from hearing the rest of the sentence, so I just sighed and fell back onto my heels, letting my head fall forwards onto Fresh’s back.

“i guess it wasn’t meant to last.”

“Hey, I’m still here.” I gave a quick sympathetic pat to his shoulder. Fresh was clearly joking around, so I didn’t feel too bad about his mock hurt. That still makes me wonder, what allows me to hear him and Error, but not the others? Questions for another time. Now we needed to get back to the topic of the new arrivals.

Finally gathering the courage to come out from behind my protector, I take the time to examine my room turned interdimensional hub. It’s not like I really had a choice, Fresh had left to go talk to Orange.

My table was unharmed, as the guys had pushed it out the way to play some Band Hero after dinner. My carpet had a few smudges of- oh who am I kidding. I force myself to turn away from the details and look at the new skeletons to add to the crypt.

It appears to be the Swapfell duo. _or Fellswap. isn’t there a gold and red version? ah who cares, i don’t know and i'm getting off track again_.

Blackberry was talking to Ink, and Stretch was laying out flat on the floor, where my table would have been. He looked… off? I wandered over and crouched beside him on the floor; resting my forearms onto my thighs, I cocked my head to one side.

“y’all right there?” He opened one of his eyes and scrolled his eye-light achingly slow from my feet to my face. A shiver forced its way up my spine, but I remained still. After he stopped scrutinizing me, he dropped his lid shut again and gave a slight shrug. I was in stunned silence for a few seconds before shaking myself out of it.

“well, go lay on the couch. i don’t want to be blamed for tripping over your face.” I stand up and go to leave the skeleton be, but quickly tack on an introduction as an afterthought.

Idon’t get any reaction. Shrugging to myself, I head off; he can’t say I didn’t warn him now. I take the few steps needed to stand by Ink, facing the other arrival. Blackberry looked very stern, crossed arms and facing away slightly.

“hey, i’m your host. don’t break anything and we should get along fine.” I very quickly regret that even vaguely aggressive sentence. He merely raises and eyebrow in my direction before I squeak a quick goodbye and I’m skittering off to the kitchen. I lean against one of the walls and take a few breaths. I can feel the impending existential crisis. Mentally slapping myself out of it, I notice Error’s presence.

“Do you need to reboot too?” I stick my tongue out at him playfully and go to respond only to be thrown off. Remember that crisis? Yeah, he wasn’t helping in the slightest. Not only did fictional skeletons fall into my house, they can apparently manifest tongues?!

My own quickly retreats into my mouth and I straighten slightly. His was a dark blue, and looked slightly gelatinous. He even had multiple tendril like ones! My brain almost fried by the time he dissipated it. I couldn’t believe it.

“the fandom was right…” I murmured under my breath, finally looking away. Error had relaxed enough around me to show some concern, so he went to ask if I was alright for a second time before I interrupted him.

“shush! i’m gonna make dinner, you’re not going to say anything, and we’re both going to forget that this ever happened!”

A rumbling laughter haunted my dreams that night.


	12. Resonance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter titles amirite?
> 
> *not subtle at all finger guns

“you guys want to play a game?” I was bored, they were bored, and how do you fix boredom? _Public embarrassment._

I managed to gather a few of the skeles into the living room and, them being them, all claimed a seat on the couches and armchairs. Ink, Fresh and Error were on the couch, while Orange, Stretch and Blackberry sat on the other. That left Blueberry on the only armchair left.

My heart gave a slight pang at the loss of my favourite chair. _you lived and died far to young_. Shrugging mentally, I start setting up Band Hero.

“okay, so basically, this game is played with four people. we’re gonna need one singer, a drummer and a couple guitarists. we'll play a warm up game so you guys can see how it works, but after that I’m gonna choose the fun songs, okay?” I get a chorus of approval in the forms of words and nods. Maybe a snore dotted in there too from a tall, edgy skele.

I rolled my eyes in his direction and handed off the microphone to Blueberry. He looked excited to play and bounced in place while he waited for the others. When no one else stood up I turned my gaze to Fresh. His grin tightened when he matched my gaze.

As my face started to change, a sweat drop appeared on his skull and his glasses rewrote themselves. I read the words “do-n't" and pull my face into the most pleading expression, pouting my lips, and hunched over, pulling my hands into my chest.

“please, Fresh? just one song?” He tipped his head back and release a loud groan from his chest. His glasses switched once more to “fi-ne" and he rolled onto his feet. I snap out of my begging posture and give a small jump and fist-pump into the air, with a quiet “yes!” of glee.

He grabbed the guitar and I nodded to Orange on the other one. I assume Blueberry convinced him to play while I was convincing Fresh. A grin took over my features as I grabbed the drum sticks in one hand and took my seat.

“This better not be embarrassing.” I point my sticks at Fresh and stick my tongue out at him.

“it won’t if you can git gud.” He narrowed his sockets at me as I looked to the screen with a smug grin. I put a stick in each hand and tap my way through the menus, using the drums and cymbals as the controllers.

“guitarists listen up, on the screen there’s gonna be coloured blocks that come towards the screen.” Another drum sound effect as I navigate the songs.

“when they reach the circles, press the colour on the ‘strings',” I made air-quotes with my hands “and flip the bar thingie on the bottom.” I roll the stick on the snare to scroll quicker as I decide on the song we should start with.

“singers, just follow the words on the screen and try to match the pitch. drummers, basically the guitars but harder as there’s more variety in notes. got it?” Once I get confirmation from the players, I give a nod to myself and select the song. With a bit of fumbling, everyone chooses the easiest difficulty, with the exception of me, as I had used the drum kit on the creatively named drum hero, choosing the hardest. I hit play in the music and all the bars appear on the screen.

“i thought you hadn’t played before?” i flick my eyes from the screen to Error with a smile of smugness.

“when did I say that?” I turn my attention back to the game just in time to hit the first notes. My hands flew across the kit. Rolling almost all the notes on the drums and intermittently dotting with the cymbals, the high-heat opened and closed in command with my left foot as my right hand tapped an off beat for a few seconds. My right foot hammered out the main beat with the occasional half beat stuttering the song.

When we got towards the middle of the song I straitened my back. Blowing a stray hair out of my vision I take a quick glance at the others scores.

Fresh was doing about average, hitting most of the notes with a few misses and a couple out of time. Blueberry was singing enthusiastically, holding all the notes for the right length but maybe a bit off key.

Orange however... He was a beast. He hit all the notes perfectly and had activated his star power in game. The score was perfect and all the notes were in time, even as he continued to appear lazy and slouching.

I returned my attention to the game when I missed a few notes, focusing more heavily on my own gameplay.

As the music started to end, I grinned once more. A brief, split second of silence from all instruments was suddenly shattered as it started the drum solo. Even faster and more complex than before, my notes flashed and disappeared in milliseconds as I hammered them out on the kit. A bead of sweat trickled down my brow as I was sucked into the game, my vision narrowing as the sound reached a _crescendo_ -and then ended.

With a smile I wiped the bead off my brow with my sleeve and turned to the others.

“so yeah, who wants to go next?” I turned back again to place the sticks on the snare. I was suddenly lifted by the waist and squeaked in shock. A voice blasted by my ear.

“That Was Amazing, Human! How Did You Learn To Play Like That? Your Hands Moved So Quickly And Your Reaction Time Is Almost As Fast As My Own!” I laughed loudly as I was swung around.

“i'm sure my reaction time isn’t that good-!” I was cut off by being dropped back to my feet. My shoulders were grasped as I was spun to face Blueberry, and another evolution was dropped on me.

“Human, You Can Hear Me!”


	13. A/N will be deleted when I remember

The tumblr is still pretty empty so I'm waiting for some asks?? Pls?? I'm lonely??

Also update numero dos I made a smut series hehehehe

The first one is already written and posted so if ye be over 18 go nuts, it's called teasing so you can guess (its undertale snas btw)


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